Daniil Medvedev’s trophy ceremony hampered by weird song as anti-Russian propaganda raises eyebrows

Daniil Medvedev's first title on Clay becomes an ugly affair as Rome Masters organisers play out a strange song raising concerns.

Daniil Medvedev’s trophy ceremony hampered by weird song as anti-Russian propaganda raises eyebrows

Daniil Medvedev (Credits: InsideSport)

Daniil Medvedev finally ended his long wait for a title on clay as he won the 2023 Rome Masters. The Russian was up against Holger Rune in the finals and the odds were in the youngster’s favor instead of Medvedev. The former World No. 1 however had other plans as he won the finals in straight-sets to take home his 20th career title.

Interestingly, it was also his 20th venue where he won the title, establishing a very rare feat. Medvedev’s dislike towards clay is of no surprise anymore. The player has been on multiple explosive rants on the court dreading the surface. This year, however, the Russian had very different plans. He made the quarter-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters before reaching the third round in Madrid.

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In Rome, he took down Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the final, both very good players on clay. As the player celebrated his win which included his rise to World No. 2 spot, the ugliness of tournament organizers was brought to light. As Medvedev went on to lift the trophy, the famous song of the band Pet Shop Boys, Go West, was played.

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The song which promotes life in the West, was deemed deliberate as the war between Ukraine and Russia continues even after more than 15 months. With Medvedev having suffered because of the ongoing war, the song choice further raised eyebrows given his nationality and the measures of European nations to punish Russia as much as possible.

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Daniil Medvedev and his compatriots still under strict observation

Aslan Karatsev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev
Aslan Karatsev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev (Credits: Australian Open)

Daniil Medvedev and Co. are still not allowed for international events. Next year’s Paris Olympics will see Russian and Belarusian players not competing as per the current guidelines. Even the Davis Cup and BJK Cup don’t permit the players from the two nations to compete at the biggest team event in the sport.

While Wimbledon, under pressure from ATP and WTA, will welcome Russian and Belarusians this year, they will be monitored very closely. At the Australian Open this year, pro-Russian protestors managed to display signs promoting war sending shockwaves. The security measures were questioned and Wimbledon would like to avoid them as Royal Family are frequent visitors during the fortnight.

It is however laughable that expectations from the Russian and Belarusian players are increasing with every passing tournament. The organizers are however free to ‘mess up’ time and again against the players from the two nations. While sport is said to keep all these issues away, the tournament organizers are in a way given free license to behave in any way possible.

Medvedev however maintained his composure ignoring the song and continued to enjoy the celebrations of his first title on clay. On the top, it was a Masters-1000 that he won on clay defeating a very good pool of players. While it will be wild to say that Medvedev will be a title contender at the 2023 French Open, his momentum might just take him to a deep run in Paris.

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